


If the Stars Align

by FollowMyLead



Category: New Girl (TV 2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Light Angst, Minor cursing, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-23 01:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30047865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollowMyLead/pseuds/FollowMyLead
Summary: Maybe it wasn't fate. Maybe it was just his own damned luck.After the surprising success of Z is for Zombies, an unmotivated Nick works to find inspiration for his next novel before his dreams expire. Crossing paths with Jessica Day could be just a coincidence, or it could be everything he didn't know he needed.
Relationships: Jessica Day/Nick Miller, Jessica Day/Sam Sweeney, Reagan Lucas/Nick Miller
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	If the Stars Align

Nick releases a silent huff as he closes the now autographed book and hands it back to the preteen. He was somewhat concerned because Z is for Zombies wasn’t written for that kind of audience, but this is the age group that Merle and his team managed to hook. He gives the boy a slight crooked grin and thanks him for coming by. While the next reader approaches the table, he uses the lapse as an opportunity to glance at the length of the line. The reading had a decent turnout; he just isn’t thrilled about the meet & greet part. Truly, the author is grateful for each and every fan that supports his book, but he can’t help feeling a little more grumpy than usual today.

His attention is brought back to the reader that’s waiting for him when Merle finally clears his throat. A pair of blazing blue eyes meet his dark brown. He takes a moment to inspect the girl, nay, woman in front of him. She’s beautiful, that much is obvious. But she looks to be slightly older than his average reader.

He still hasn’t broken his stare, so she speaks up first. “Hi. I’m a big fan of your book.”

“Oh. Thank you. My name’s Nick Miller.”

She giggles, “Yeah, I figured by the name on the cover of your book.”

Nick mentally slaps himself upside the head. “Right. And your name?” Her eyes widen a little and he realizes how his tone sounded like he was hitting on her in a dingy bar. There’s a brief pause. “You know…for the autograph.”

“Yeah, of course. It’s actually not for me. You can address it to the students at Banyon Canyon. The kids love your novel.”

“Well it’s good to hear that someone likes them,” he jokes.

“Of course they do! You’re a terrific writer.”

Nick keeps his head down, trying to hide the smile creeping on his face. He’s heard it before, but hearing it from this complete stranger makes him kind of believe it for once. He finalizes his signature with a flick of the wrist and hands the hard copy back to her.

“There ya go. Thanks for coming.”

“No, thank you for reading!” Jess beams and puts the book in her tope.

He falters at the sight of her smile; it’s radiant. Personally, he doesn’t think anyone has a reason to smile that big, but he would probably pay to see hers. He stops himself abruptly, reminding himself he doesn’t even know this woman’s name. Before he can say anything else, she turns and walks away as the next guest comes to greet him.

Jess leaves the bookstore, both excited and puzzled. Her students will be thrilled she scored an autographed copy of Z is for Zombies. She replays the scene of her interaction with the writer on her ride home. She’ll admit that he’s cute in a scruffy-looking-bartender kind of way, but she couldn’t get a read on his personality. He seemed friendly, which is contrary to what she thought the author was actually like. The photo of him on the back of the book makes him look like some upset turtle that can’t be bothered.

Jess has to slam on her brakes for a cat crossing the road, completely interrupting her thoughts. She decides it’s best to stay focused on her driving and disregards any further thoughts about Nick Miller.

\----

He lets the heat of the shower melt away the heaviness on his shoulders. Nick can’t understand why he feels like something is bothering him; everything in his life is the same. Deep down, he knows he’s not entirely satisfied with the book. He sent it to his publishing company on a drunken dare and it somehow worked itself out! But it isn’t his best work and he knows it.

The thought of the pretty teacher from his signing reprises. She was beautiful- there was no denying that- and interesting. Their minute conversation added just a little spark to his day. _Hm. Maybe that’s what’s been bothering him._ Before he can pursue the idea, the water turns ice cold.

“WINSTON! Why would you turn on the sink?!” He peeks his head out from the curtain to find Ferguson sitting in the sink, but his owner nowhere to be found. Nick swears he sees the cat flash a devious smile before he turns back to the shower.

Clean from whatever fancy shampoo Schmidt is using this month, the writer joins Winston on the couch, who is watching some overdramatic reality show about wedding dresses and saying yes. He hardly understands what’s happening, but his roommate is enthralled in the latest emotional bride. He just rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the blank word document waiting in his lap.

Merle has been on him for weeks to come up with ideas for his next book, but his inspiration is as dead as his zombies. One day he was so desperate for ideas, he forced Winston and Schmidt to go to the zoo with him. It wasn’t effective. He just ended up drunk, talking to a Mexican snake.

Nick’s in the middle of creating some dubious word search (because who the hell knows why) when the front door opens. Neither him nor Winston look up, expecting it to be Schmidt returning from his date.

“What, no ‘welcome home, babe’?” Nick’s head whips to the foyer to see his girlfriend standing there with her suitcase.

“Reagan!” He jumps to her side, grabs her suitcase and her hand to pull her to the living room. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Atlanta for two more weeks.”

“They’re launching a new drug next week and they needed their best sales rep on it. So, here I am.”

“That’s great! Welcome home. Tell me about your trip.”

“That’s okay, I’m not feeling a long chat. I think I’m just going to take a shower and head to bed.”

He feels a singe of disappointment until she turns back to him and invites him to join her. He’s not quite ready for bed, yet, and he really wanted to work on his nonexistent novel, but the crossword on the screen reminds him that it’s futile.

He says goodnight to Winston and follows her into his room.

\----

Jess’s Monday feels like a horrible car wreck with one car piling after another. When she woke up this morning, she was excited to be around the kids and take on a new day. That didn’t last very long. Today was the day that the school board would be making a surprise visit. Now she has to show them around in addition to talking down one of the school’s donors from pulling his contribution because his son didn’t get enough playing time on the field. Sometimes, she rethinks what she took on when she was offered this position.

She races through a stack of paperwork, barely acknowledging what it says, until her librarian, Valarie, taps on the door. Jess throws a quick glance to welcome her and returns to the paperwork.

“Heyy Ms. Day…”

“Valarie, I told you to call me Jess.” She requests, signing something about an upcoming fieldtrip.

“Right. So, how’s it going?”

“Uhh pretty busy. Can I help you with something?”

“Oh it’s nothing,” she hesitates.

Jess finally puts down her pen and looks up to the librarian. “Valarie, we’ve been colleagues long enough for you to be able to tell me if you need something. What’s up.”

Valarie proceeds to explain that the guest speaker they booked for tomorrow’s assembly cancelled and they need to find a replacement. The principal rubs her temple as she listens to yet another issue she needs to handle. Her and Valarie begin bouncing ideas off each other until it feels like they’ve run out of solutions.

“Unless…there is one person we can try.” Her friend suggests.

The headache that’s starting to onset is making it harder to care. Jess looks down at the paperwork she still needs to tackle, then her watch to see how much time she has until the board members arrive.

“You know what Val, I trust you. I’m giving you full permission to bring in who you want. Just make sure he or she is age appropriate and you can give me the invoice whenever.”

The librarian is elated. She’s about to go on a grateful tangent but can tell the correct move is to quietly leave her boss in peace. She stands, awkwardly curtsies, and turns to leave. Jess chuckles, feeling slightly relieved by another problem solved.

\----

“Nick what do you think about a writing partner?” Merle asks, leaning back in his office chair.

Nick swallows his coffee, silently praying the caffeine kicks in soon. Mondays are hard, and Monday mornings are even harder. Throw a meeting in the mix and he feels sorry for anyone that crosses his path.

“What, for me? No. No, absolutely not.”

“Don’t think of it as help; think of it as having someone to share potential ideas with, and they do the same with you.”

“I don’t need anyone to share anything with. I’m doing just fine on my own.”

His publisher releases a quiet sigh, careful of his next words. “You’ve been struggling for a while, Nick. If you can’t come up with something soon, this company will have to think about terminating your contract.”

Nick’s face falls. The ringing in his ears drowns out Merle’s voice as the slight panic envelopes him.

“You’re a great writer. I don’t want to drop you if we don’t have to. So, we’ll keep up the press to promote sales and you keep grinding to come up with topics. Are you sure you don’t want a partner?”

All Nick can muster is shaking his head.

“Okay. Well some school booked you for a last-minute reading tomorrow, so you need to be there at noon. I’ll send you the address. I won’t be able to make this one, so feel free to bring someone to support you.”

“Yeah. Okay. Thanks Merle.” He grabs his messenger bag from the floor and excuses himself.

For a moment, Nick considers letting the dream go and terminating his contract. It would just be another thing Nicholas Miller didn’t finish.

 _“Of course they do. You’re a terrific writer!”_ He’s a little freaked out that the reader’s voice from his signing is so clear, but oddly, it’s just enough to encourage him to go home and try to figure something out **fast.**


End file.
